U.S. patent number 6,903,838 [Application Number 09/468,257] was granted by the patent office on 2005-06-07 for automatically specifying address where document is to be sent.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.. Invention is credited to Angela K. Hanson, Paul L Jeran, James P. Slupe.
United States Patent |
6,903,838 |
Hanson , et al. |
June 7, 2005 |
Automatically specifying address where document is to be sent
Abstract
A method for providing automatic communication addressing
comprising the steps of: locating a communication mark, if one is
present, on a medium containing information; obtaining at least one
address directly or indirectly from the communication mark;
inputting the address into an address function of a communication
device; and initiating a communication of the information to the
address through the communication device.
Inventors: |
Hanson; Angela K. (Eagle,
ID), Slupe; James P. (Caldwell, ID), Jeran; Paul L
(Meridian, ID) |
Assignee: |
Hewlett-Packard Development
Company, L.P. (Houston, TX)
|
Family
ID: |
34619270 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/468,257 |
Filed: |
December 20, 1999 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
358/1.15;
358/402; 358/407; 358/440; 709/217; 709/219 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N
1/32128 (20130101); H04N 1/32765 (20130101); H04N
2201/3207 (20130101); H04N 2201/3208 (20130101); H04N
2201/3209 (20130101); H04N 2201/3225 (20130101); H04N
2201/3269 (20130101); H04N 2201/3274 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
15/00 (20060101); H04N 1/00 (20060101); G06F
015/00 (); H04N 001/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;358/1.15,402,442,407,405,440,468 ;707/1,3,4,10 ;382/101,61
;370/248,352,392,471,401 ;709/217,219,251 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Pokrzywa; Joseph R.
Claims
We claim:
1. A method for providing automatic communication addressing
comprising the steps of: locating a communication mark, if one is
present, on a medium containing information at a final addressee
destination sent from sending party; obtaining at least one
communication address directly or indirectly from said
communication mark, the at least one communication address being
different from that of the final addressee destination; inputting
said communication address into an address function of a
communication device; and initiating a communication of said
information to said communication address through said
communication device; wherein said communication mark includes a
first communication address for a first communication mode, and a
second communication address for a second different type of
communication mode; further comprising the steps of determining if
said communication mode for said first communication address is
available at said communication device; and when it is determined
that said communication mode for said first communication address
is not available at said communication device, sending said second
communication address for the second different type of
communication mode and said information to the communication
device.
2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein said locating step
comprises scanning said medium.
3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein said locating step
comprises the step of locating said communication mark at a
predetermined location on said medium.
4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein said locating step
comprises locating an address relative to a predetermined mark on
said medium.
5. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein said step of obtaining
comprise obtaining the at least one Internet address directly from
said communication mark.
6. A system for providing automatic communication addressing
comprising: logic for locating a non-text/image communication mark,
if one is present, on a medium containing information which has
been sent to a final addressee destination from a sending party;
logic for obtaining at least one communication address directly or
indirectly from said communication mark, the at least one
communication address being different from that of the final
addressee destination; logic for inputting said communication
address into an address function of a communication device; and
logic for initiating a communication of said information to said
communication address through said communication device; wherein
said communication mark includes a first communication address for
a first communication mode, and a second communication address for
a second different type of communication mode; further comprising:
logic for determining if said communication mode for said first
communication address is available at said communication device;
and logic for, when it is determined that said communication mode
for said first communication address is not available at said
communication device, sending said second communication address for
the second different type of communication mode and said
information to the communication device.
7. A program product including machine readable program code for
causing a machine to perform the following method steps for
providing automatic communication addressing: locating a
non-text/image communication mark, if one is present, on a medium
containing information which has been sent to a final addressee
destination from a sending party; obtaining at least one
communication address directly or indirectly from said
communication mark, the at least one communication address being
different from that of the final addressee destination; inputting
said communication address into an address function of a
communication device; and initiating a communication of said
information to said communication address through said
communication device; wherein said communication mark includes a
first communication address for a first communication mode, and a
second communication address for a second different type of
communication mode; further comprising the steps of: determining if
said communication mode for said first communication address is
available at said communication device; and when it is determined
that said communication mode for said first communication address
is not available at said communication device, sending said second
communication address for the second different type of
communication mode and said information to the communication
device.
8. A program product as defined in claim 7, wherein said step of
obtaining the at least one Internet address obtains the at least
one internet address directly from said communication mark.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to automated document
management systems, and more particularly to a device and method
for automatically determining an address where a communication is
to be sent and the communication mode by which it is to be
sent.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order for a user to send a communication by fax machine, the
user must either input the fax number using a numeric control
panel, or press a hot key on a control panel for that particular
fax number. In either case, the user must know the communication
address or number for the location where the document is to be
sent. There is currently no method for the user to automatically
insert a document into a communication machine such as a fax
machine and let the machine determine the address where the
document is to be sent.
Likewise, when using e-mail, the user typically relies upon an
e-mail software application that allows the user to type in an
e-mail address or automatically reply to an e-mail and send the
reply to one or more locations. There is currently no method to
print the e-mail communication and then, send that printed e-mail
document to another address without going back into the e-mail
application and sending from within that e-mail application.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly, the present invention comprises in one embodiment a method
for providing automatic communication addressing comprising the
steps of: locating a communication mark, if one is present, on a
medium containing information; obtaining an address directly or
indirectly from the communication mark; inputting the address into
an address function of a communication device; and initiating a
communication of the information to the address through the
communication device.
In a further aspect of the invention, the locating step comprises
scanning the medium.
In a further aspect of the present invention, the locating step
comprises capturing the communication mark using a frame from a
video.
In yet a further aspect of the present invention, the locating step
comprises the step of locating the communication mark at a
predetermined location on the medium.
In a yet further aspect of the present invention, the locating step
comprises locating an address relative to a predetermined mark on
the medium.
In a yet further aspect of the present invention, the communication
mark includes a first address for a first communication mode, and a
second address for a second communication mode.
In a yet further aspect of the present invention, the communication
mark includes a designation for a communication mode for the
address, and further comprises the step of determining if the
communication mode is available at the communication device.
In a yet further aspect of the present invention, the step is
provided of adding a communication mark to the information prior to
initiating the communication. This communication mark may include
new addresses or delete addresses or references thereto from the
original communication mark or provide a different set of
addresses.
In a yet further aspect of the present invention, the communication
mark is a bar code.
In a yet further aspect of the present invention, the communication
mark is a reference to a location where an address is stored.
In yet a further aspect of the present invention, the address is
accessed over a network.
In a further aspect of the present invention, the address is
accessed via a URL address.
In a yet further aspect of the present invention, the method
includes the step of storing the address obtained directly or
indirectly from said communication mark.
In a yet further aspect of the present invention, the method
includes the steps of determining a name of an addressee
corresponding to the obtained address, and displaying that
addressee name to a user. This aspect may further include the step
of allowing the user to add or delete addresses.
In a yet further aspect of the present invention, the step is
included of, when it is determined that the communication mode
requested is not available at the communication device, sending the
address and the information to a different communication
device.
In a yet further aspect of the present invention, the obtaining
step comprises the step of using hand-writing recognition software
to obtain information relative to the address.
In yet a further embodiment of the invention, a system is provided
for providing automatic communication addressing comprising: logic
for locating a communication mark on a medium containing
information; logic for obtaining an address directly or indirectly
from the communication mark; logic for inputting the address into
an address function of a communication device; and logic for
initiating a communication of the information to the address
through the communication device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings which are incorporated in and constitute
a part of the specification, illustrate a presently preferred
embodiment of the invention, and together with the general
description given above and the detailed description of the
preferred embodiment given below, serve to explain the principals
of the invention.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the main
components of the system for providing automatic communication
addressing.
FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating the steps of a process for
processing an automatic communication addressing method.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to FIG. 1, a document medium or a substrate 10
containing a communication mark indicating a communication address
or a reference to a data base location where a communication
address is located is shown. The communication mark is indicated by
reference numeral 11 for purposes of illustration only. The
communication mark may be handwritten on the document or may be
placed on the document by machine. The communication mark could be
in a machine readable code that can be formed on the medium or
substrate 10. It should be noted that there are numerous methods
available for providing a machine-readable code on a medium or a
substrate. One class of methods comprises hiding the code within a
primary image. Such hiding can be accomplished by utilizing
particular digital encoding, such as, for example, font pattern
modifications, including, half-tone screen inter-character spacing
modification, or a dithering pattern. Another method is to place
the machine-readable code on a portion of a document that is not
normally printed upon with a primary image. Such portions can
include, for example, one or more of the corners or margins of a
document. The machine-readable code can be stored in such portion,
as for example by a pattern of dots or lines. Such pattern could,
for example, comprise a one-dimensional or two-dimensional bar
code. Note that if hidden or camouflaged machine-readable code is
used, the camouflaged code can be in the form of half-tone markings
within an image prepared on the substrate, or in the form of an ink
which is not detectable when viewed with only visible wavelength
light, i.e., for example an ink that is detectable only using
infrared or ultraviolet wavelengths.
As noted above, the machine-readable code may be located anywhere
on the substrate or the medium including the top portion, a bottom
portion, side margins of a document. It may also be located in or
adjacent to an image like a company logo or within a photograph, or
in or adjacent to a copyright notice or a watermark in a
background.
In applications where a bar code is utilized, large amounts of data
can be encoded by utilizing two-dimensional bar codes. In
applications where a person writes the code on the substrate, the
code may be machine-readable when read with a machine coupled with
a handwriting-recognition software.
In applications where the code of the communication mark on the
substrate or medium comprises a reference to a location of data
objects in a database, the code may comprise simply a serial
number, an access code, or a URL address corresponding to an
Internet location at which the data objects are stored. These data
objects can then be accessed through a network connection. In
particular applications, the machine-readable code can be formed on
a substrate with a machine configured to support voice input and
then to mark or annotate the substrate for further
action/workflow.
The communication mark could be located anywhere on the document.
However, it may be preferred to locate the communication mark at a
specific location in order to facilitate ease in locating the
communication mark. It should be noted that the communication mark
could be located at one point or multiple points on the medium or
substrate in order to enhance the ability of a device to locate the
communication mark.
In a preferred embodiment, the communication mark could indicate
the type of communication mode to be used, as well as the address
location to be used for that communication mode. Typical
communication modes would include fax machines, e-mail
communication, and voice mail communication. However, it should be
noted that the present invention is not intended to be limited to
any particular communication mode.
It should be noted that the communication mark can be placed on the
document in a wide variety of manners or by a variety of
mechanisms. For example, as noted previously, the communication
mark can be handwritten onto the document. Alternatively, the
communication mark could be printed on the document by the
application used to create the document, or by the driver of the
device that printed the document. Alternatively, the communication
mark could be embedded in the document by the device that
transmitted the document or by the device that received the
document. Alternatively, the communication mark could be preprinted
on a form/header sheet or a cover sheet.
The document 10 to be communicated is initially provided to a
device 12, which could be a scanning device or a video frame
capture device. The device 12 functions to capture the information
on the document 10 and/or to capture the information at least at a
particular location on the document where a communication mark is
expected to be located. If the later configuration is utilized,
then the scanner or video capture device would capture only a
portion of the document or medium or substrate wherein the
communication mark is expected to be found.
The captured information including the communication mark is then
provided to a communication mark detector and decode device 14.
This device 14 may be implemented, in one embodiment, by a general
or a special purpose computer having a CPU, memory, input/output
and networking devices, and system and application software, or it
could be implemented by a device without one or more of the CPU,
memory, or networking devices, depending on the configuration
environment. The processing unit for the device 14, in a preferred
embodiment, searches the captured information to detect a match to
a communication mark configuration, and then operates to decode
that communication mark. This detection aspect of the device 14
could comprise simply loading the CPU with a hand-writing
recognition software, or software for decoding one or
two-dimensional bar codes, or for decoding some other type of mark.
Typically, the specially programmed decoding application in the
device 14 will process the image of the communication mark using a
logic corresponding to the logic used to create the communication
mark, including the steps of locating the mark and parsing the
mark. If the device 14 is unable to locate a communication mark in
the information provided to it, then the device 14 may provide an
error message which indicates that the communication mark has not
been found, and a default processing can be initiated.
It should be noted that the communication mark may include a
communication address therein, such as a fax number, or an e-mail
address, or a voice mail address, or some other communication mode
address. Alternatively, the communication mark may simply be a
reference to a database 16 either contained within the device 14 or
remote from the device 14. If the database 16 is separated from the
device 14, it could be accessed by means of a computer network,
such as a LAN, so that all devices that are connected to the
network can directly communicate with each other. The network could
also include wide area networks (WAN) and other inter-connected
networks such as the Internet. Accordingly, the information in the
communication mark could comprise either a file name in an
electronic database accessible by a network, or a location in the
form of a URL (uniform resource locator) that enables the location
of a document on the World Wide Web of the Internet. By way of
example, this remote database access could be to the address book
of a PDA, or an APC. It should be noted that the use of simply a
reference to electronic files stored in the database 16 may be
particularly convenient where the document 10 is to be communicated
to a plurality of different addressees and the space for the mark
or the data capacity for the coding type is limited. The use of a
reference to a separate database is also convenient when the list
of addresses must be updated on a periodic basis.
After the communication mark detector and decode device 14 has
determined the communication mode to be utilized and the address
within that communication mode, then the information to be
transmitted is provided to the designated communication mode. In
FIG. 1, by way of example a fax device communication mode 18, an
e-mail device communication mode 20, and a voice mail device
communication mode 22 are shown.
Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a flowchart of the
execution of software to implement the present invention. The first
step 30 in the flowchart is to capture information in the document
including any communication mark or marks therein. This can be
accomplished, as noted previously, by using a standard scanning
system or a video capture device. The execution then moves to the
decision block 32, wherein it is determined whether a communication
mark has been found in the captured document information. If the
answer is NO, then the execution moves to the return block 34 and
may generate an error message.
If a communication mark has been found in the captured information,
then the execution moves to block 36 wherein the communication mark
that has been found is decoded using standard decoding software, as
described earlier, and the mode or modes of communication and the
addresses and potentially the names of addresses are determined
from the mark itself, or by accessing a file in a database or at a
URL address via a reference number in the mark.
As an optional step, the execution may then move to block 40
wherein the decoded address/addresses and modes of communication
are stored in a local or remote database for future reference.
As a second optional step, the execution may move to block 42
wherein the decoded addresses and/or addresses are displayed and
the option is provided to the user to add or delete addresses.
The execution then moves to decision block 44 wherein it is
determined whether the communication mode requested is available.
If the answer is NO, then the execution moves to block 46, wherein
either an error message or some other appropriate message may be
generated and displayed, or the document information could be sent
to a different machine that includes that the particular
communication mode.
If the designated communication mode is available, then the
execution moves to block 48 wherein the decoded address is read
into the communication mode device that has been designated. By way
of example, this communication mode device may be a fax machine, or
an e-mail device, or a voice mail device or some other convenient
communication mode. The execution may then move to block 50 wherein
a communication mark may be added to the document, if necessary.
This communication mark could simply duplicate the communication
mark that had been previously detected, or it could replace the
detected communication mark with a new communication mark which
adds new addresses thereto or deletes addresses or provides a new
set of addresses, with different modes of communication.
The execution then moves to block 52 wherein the communication is
initiated from the communication mode device.
Accordingly, it can be seen that in the case where a user has
written a fax number or e-mail address or symbol on a document to
be sent, or where a digital mark or bar code has been added to the
document, the device can read the number or symbol designating or
referencing an address where the document is to be faxed, or
e-mailed, and then dial that fax number automatically or address
that e-mail address automatically and send the document. Having
this communication mark on the document can be used to obtain
automatic fax-back or e-mail-back operation.
By way of example, the user may receive a fax from someone and
desire to send a reply back to that person or group of persons. The
user can simply write on the faxed document they received, and then
place the document back into the device. The device of the present
invention then reads the fax number from the communication mark and
faxes the document back to the original sender.
The same concept applies to e-mail communications wherein the user
can print a copy of the e-mail document and write on the printed
document in the same way as for the fax, and then merely drop the
document into the present inventive device, and the present
invention determines the address or addresses where the document is
to be sent by e-mail.
It should be noted that a plurality of different communication
marks may be disposed on the document indicating a plurality of
different addresses to which to send the communication. The user
could either place an indicating mark near or around the
communication mark or communication addresses to which the device
should send, or, alternatively could cross-out the addresses or
communication marks to which the device should not send the
document. The software could include recognition programming to
recognize these user indications. This technique would be
particularly useful where the fax or the e-mail has a header
associated with it that indicates where the fax or the e-mail came
from and where it had been sent. When the user desires to reply to
the fax or to the e-mail, the user can simply circle or otherwise
mark those addresses to which the communication device should send
the document, or cross out those addresses or communication marks
where the document is not to be sent.
It should be noted that a single communication mark could contain
both fax and e-mail addresses. Alternatively, a plurality of
communication marks could be disposed on the document, with each of
the communication marks containing an address for a different
communication mode, such as a fax or an e-mail address(es). By way
of example, the user may have received a fax or an e-mail
communication that had been sent to many people. Some of these
people may have received the document by fax communication mode,
and some of these people may have received the document by e-mail
communication mode. All of these addresses can be embedded in one
or more communication marks in the document the user received. When
the user replies, the present inventive device would detect the one
or more communication marks and decode all of the fax and e-mail
addresses to which the original document was sent, and then send
back a reply to all of those e-mail and fax addressees
automatically.
Alternatively, a user may need to fax a document to five different
people and e-mail the document to three different people. The five
faxed addresses and the three e-mail addresses could all be
embedded by the user in the document via one or a plurality of
communication marks, and the present inventive device would locate
those communication marks and determine the five faxed addresses
and the three e-mail addresses and send communications to those
addresses. The user could then expect automatically addressed
replies from these recipients.
Alternatively, the present inventive device can be utilized to
simply capture from one or more communication marks all of the
address information and communication mode information needed to
send a response to the originator or a list of people that the
document was or is to be sent to. This information could then be
stored and used as addresses for a new document to be inputted by
the user at a future time. This addressing information could be
printed on a separate cover sheet that the user can use with the
new document that it wishes to send back to the addressees. The
storage of the address information at the inventive device allows
the user to respond at his own convenience. The user can indicate
to the inventive device to use the captured address information by
pushing a button, or by a voice command, or by indicating by some
other means that the address information is to be used.
Alternatively, this address and mode of communication information
could be stored in a PC or other convenient device. The user can
then indicate to this other device which addressee list to use with
the sending device. As noted previously, the user would have the
option of selectively using part of the information that is stored,
and adding or deleting from this information that is stored.
The present invention may be utilized with a variety of different
communication modes including voice-mail phone numbers. Note that
the communication markings would be designed to be embedded in the
voice mail communication.
It should be noted that although the display of the addresses to
the user that were obtained directly or indirectly from the
communication mark or marks and the ability to add or delete
addresses was disclosed as being provided in the processor block 14
that contains the processing unit with the communication mark
detector, decoder and storage device, the address book of a PDA, or
a PC or any other means may be utilized to display addresses and to
add addresses or delete addresses to which a document is to be
sent. Accordingly, the present invention can be used for any type
of communication between people, devices or a combination of people
and devices.
An advantage of the present invention is that the user is not
required to manually enter addresses of where the document is to be
sent by using a control panel. The device of the present invention
can be used to determine where to send fax-back communications,
e-mail-back communications and voice mail-back communications
because the communication data is on the document that was
received. Whether the document is being sent for the first time or
is being replied to, a communication mark may be added to the
document with the necessary addresses, avoiding the requirement of
inputting those addresses from a control panel. Because the device
of the present invention can determine where to send documents, the
process of replying to fax and e-mail and other modes of
communication is now automated. It should be noted that even in the
case of handwriting addresses onto a document, this operation can
be easier for the user than punching addresses from the control
panel of a communication device. Importantly, even if the
communication device does not have a control panel, the user still
has a way of entering an address that will be decodable by the
communication device.
A significant aspect of the present invention is the facilitated
ability to have a communication-back feature. Accordingly, for
communications received, a faxed-back or an e-mail-back feature
allows the user to have an easy method of sending responses to the
originator of a fax or an e-mail without having to know or to
reenter that persons fax number or e-mail address. This invention
is particularly advantages where a plurality of different addresses
are contained in the communication mark, because automatic
responses can be made to all of these addressees without the
requirement of keying in the addresses.
The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the
invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and
description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the
invention to the precise form disclosed, and modifications and
variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be
acquired from practice of the invention. The embodiment was chosen
and described in order to explain the principles of the invention
and its practical application to enable one skilled in the art to
utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various
modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It
is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the
claims appended hereto, and their equivalents.
* * * * *